Soft Revolution
by LeSkuh
Summary: Gerald runs into someone he'd never expected to see again. ::arnold-gerald-helga; set in the darkverse::


**Soft Revolution  
**(_the revolution wasn't bad - we hit the streets with all we had_)

"No way."

Gerald dropped his nail bat and raced down the steps towards the man chained on the opposite wall.

"It's impossible. It can't be him." He muttered under his breath as he drew closer. Gerald's eyes refused to turn away from the man before him - his hair long and ragged and dirty while his eyes still shone a bright, powerful green.

Those eyes. That head. It had to be. But it couldn't be.

"Arnold." Gerald confirmed finally coming to a halt inches away from where his oldest friend was chained.

Arnold did not respond.

Gerald bent down and scooted even closer to Arnold. Quietly he scanned Arnold's features, mentally noting all the ways his friend had changed. There were some light scars near the place where his neck and jaw collided and the skin around his left eye looked as if it had been bruised not too long ago. Despite the glow of life swimming in Arnold's eyes he looked near death. His body was sunken in and his matted, tangled hair was caked in so much dirt that it was basically brown. And even though Gerald was sitting directly in front of him Arnold didn't seem to notice.

"Hey." Gerald pressed on, reaching out a gentle hand to Arnold's shoulder. "Hey Arnold? You okay man?"

Still no response.

Gerald bit his bottom lip and gave Arnold's arm a small shake.

"You hear me, buddy?"

Nothing.

"Damn." Gerald swore, sucking in a deep breath. "Arnold, come on you have got to remember me. I'm Gerald - your best friend! I'm the keeper of the tales! I was the coolest kid in our entire fourth grade class! Arnold, come on."

Arnold let out a small huffing breath and then lapsed into silence once more.

"There's got to be something…" Gerald trailed off, eyes darting back and forth in an attempt to find _something_ to wake Arnold out of his stupor. Suddenly Gerald stopped and sucked in a deep breath. "Oh!"

He turned back to Arnold, determined.

"Here." Gerald said holding out his thumb and motioning for Arnold to do the same. When Arnold didn't move, he reached out with his fingers and wrapped them around Arnold's hand, gently tugging it forward. He carefully pushed against Arnold's fingers rearranging them so that they were curled into a fist save for his thumb, which stuck out of the top. Gerald then stuck his own fist forward and began wiggling his thumb.

On instinct, Arnold did the same.

Despite Gerald's apparent victory, Arnold was still almost completely motionless and his eyes still refused to meet Gerald's gaze. Gerald was about to give up when he suddenly felt familiar words forming on the tip of his tongue.

He set them free.

"You're a bold kid, Arnold."

The dam broke.

Arnold suddenly spasmed against Gerald's grip. His arms flailed outward catching on the side of Gerald's face as he milled about wildly.

"No!"

"Arnold stop! Calm down!" Gerald yelled, trying to regain control, but Arnold wasn't having it. He backed up even further against the cold cement wall and began kicking out his legs - he was using his whole body in an attempt to push Gerald away from him.

"No no no no no no no no -" Arnold continued on and on in a dull, chanting tone. Gerald grabbed a hold of his friend's wrists and threw the majority of his weight against the smaller man, pinning him to the ground.

"Come on, man." Gerald said through gritted teeth. "Keep it together."

He watched as Arnold let out a loud wail of anguish and tried desperately to knock Gerald back, but Gerald was too strong for him.

"Please no." Arnold cried out, tears streaming down his cheeks. Gerald held Arnold's hands tight in his own, pressed in between the two men's bodies.

"I'm here, Arnold, okay? You're okay."

"I don't want - No! No no no no no!" Arnold sobbed, head still thrashing from side to side. Gerald placed his head beside Arnold's in a desperate attempt to get him to stop moving his. It seemed to work for Arnold suddenly grew still. "Gerald."

"Yeah?"

"Why did you wake me?"

Gerald frowned into Arnold's neck. He knew very well what would have happened if Arnold had continued in the near-comatose state he'd been in. The Creechers didn't keep prisoners without good reason. They'd been saving Arnold for something. Something big.

But still, he could understand what Arnold was saying. Who wants to wake from a dream and end up in a nightmare?

He accidentally brushed his lips against Arnold's neck as he closed his eyes against the tired, angry tears threatening to spill. This man had once been his best friend in the whole world, but what did that even mean in a world gone to hell? He'd thought he could rescue Arnold somehow, but in a way Gerald had actually doomed him to the same life he led - one filled with death and loss and never-ending fear.

"I'm sorry."

He could feel as Arnold's breathing steadied.

"It's okay."

"No. It's not."

"Yeah." Arnold nodded. "It's not. But it's done."

"You okay?" Gerald asked, turning his head a bit to stare at Arnold's cheekbones.

"No. What about you?"

"I'm…" He thought of the twelve years he'd spent running from monsters - watching his friends die all around him. "Alive."

"Good." Arnold said and then paused a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "So, what now?"

"Now you stop two being the goddamn gayest things I've ever seen in my entire fucking life and we get the hell out of here."

Gerald and Arnold quickly scrambled upright, turning their heads to watch as Helga G. Pataki stomped down the stairs and angrily reached down to pick up Gerald's forgotten nail bat.

"Crimeny, Geraldo, what were you thinking? Rushing into a top security Creecher chamber and then _dropping your weapon_? Dumbass." She turned and pointed with one of her guns towards the exit. "Now, I suggest we break him out of those bonds and then we get the fuck out of here. There's a bunch of Creechers headed here and I'm not really in the mood to protect you two pansies right now."

With that she tossed Gerald his weapon and strode forward to where Arnold sat staring at her. She looked him over with her one good eye and then let out a small cluck of annoyance. Helga raised her gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet collided with Arnold's rusted bonds and the thing was instantly blown apart.

"Show off." Gerald muttered, pushing himself off the ground and extending a hand to Arnold. "You coming, man?"

Arnold nodded as he shot Gerald a shaky smile.

"Yeah."

Gerald helped him up and then shot Helga a dirty look out of the corner of his eyes.

"Also we're not gay."

Helga shrugged and pointed towards a large aqueduct tunnel running through the center of the room.

"That's our way out."

"Ugh, I hate sewers."

"Yeah well, you wasted a little too much time for you to get to be picky. And hurry." Gerald could tell that for all her sass Helga was honestly beginning to get a little panicked. "They're almost here." Her voice quivered.

"Right, let's go!" Gerald said tugging on Arnold's wrist.

Helga softly pushed on Arnold's back with gloved hands.

"You first, Footballhead." She said almost gently. He nodded and started into the pipe. Gerald was about to follow when Helga grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Helga, what?" He started, eyebrows furrowed.

Helga scowled at Gerald and tightened her grip on his shirt.

"Don't you ever pull something like this ever again, Gerald. You and I both know that he was probably a whole lot safer here than he will be out there. You keep letting your emotions get the best of you like this and we're all dead." Finally she let go. "Now get in the damn pipe. Brainy, Wolfgang and Lila are waiting on the other end." With that final bit she pushed past him and leapt into the tunnel.

Gerald let out a soft sigh and then slipped into the darkness after her.

* * *

**notes: **This is a possible opening to a much larger story that I may one day write. BUT NOT NOW. I am determined to finish Trying before attempting any other multi-faceted story. This was mostly just for fun. I wanted to write a reunion scene between Arnold and Gerald and then somehow Helga forced her way in.

Also, just thought I'd let everyone know that this is another piece of my Darkverse storyline.


End file.
